Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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This invention relates to a rotary stamp. More particu-
larly, the invention relates to a rotary stamp having rotary
printing members and another printing member that can print at the
same time as the rotary printing members,
A conventional rotary stamp of this type comprises a
substantially reverse U-shaped upper frame including a top plate
and a pair of facing side plates connected to both ends of the top
plate, respectively, a fi~ed shaft supported substantially midway
between said side plates, a bridge laid out between the lower ends
of said side plates, a plurality of cylindrical rotary members
rotatably supported on said fixed shaft in said upper frame, each
rotary member having an annular disc formed integrally with one
end thereof and toothed on the circumference, a plurality of end-
less belts, each endless belt being stretched around said bridge
and the corresponding rotary member and having on the surface
thereof a plurality of printing members, and a lower frame includ-
ing a plate having an opening at the center thereof and another
printing member bonded to the lower face of said plate, wherein
the printing members of the endless belts can be positioned in
said opening of the lower frame on a plane common with said other
printing member on the lower face of the plate of the lower frame
when the endless belts are located below said bridge.
According to this conventional rotary stamp, two groups
of letters or dates can be stamped on one sheet of paper simulta-
neously by the printing members of the endless belts and the other
printing member on the lower face of the plate of the lower frame.
It is preferred that the two groups of letter or dates stamped
by both of the printing members and the other printing member
be as close to each other as possible. However, if both the print-
ing members are disposed so that the groups of stamped letters
or dates are close to each other, it is impossible to move the
endless belts smoothly since the printing member of the belts
strikes either the plate around the opening or the other printing
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member.
As means for overcoming this defect, there have been
proposed several structures, for example, (1) a structure in
which the opening of the lower frame is enlarged, (2) a structure
in which the lower frame is disposed dismountably from the upper
frame, and (3) a structure in which the lower frame is pivoted
on the upper frame so that the lower frame can be turned accord-
ing to need.
When the structure (1) is adopted, the letters or dates
printed by the printing members of the endless belts and the other
printing member of the lower frame are spaced from each other and
the printed letters or dates cannot easily be read correctively.
When the structure (2) is adopted, the operation of dismounting
the lower frame and attaching it to the upper frame is trouble-
some and the efficiency is reduced. When the structure (3) is
adopted, the disadvantages encountered in case of the structures
(1) and (2) can be avoided. ~owever, this structure fails to meet
a user's desire that one of a number of lower frames provided be
freely chosen and combined with the upper frame.
It is a primary object of the present invention to pro-
vide a rotary stamp of the above-mentioned type in which endles9
belts can be smoothly rotated and letters or dates printed in an
easily readable fashion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide
a rotary stamp of the above-mentioned type in which the upper
frame can be vertically moved precisely with respect to the lower
frame, and printing members of the endless belts and another
printing member of the lower frame can be precisely located on a
common plane.
Still another object of the present invention is to pro-
vide a rotary stamp in which the lower frame can easily be sepa-
rated from the upper frame and exchanged with another lower frame,
1~57118
whereby the stamp can be conveniently used for various purposes.
In accordance with the present invention, there is pro-
vided a rotary stamp comprising an upper frame having a substan-
tially U-shaped form as a whole and including a top plate and a
pair of facing side plates connected to both ends of the top
plate, respectively, each side plate having at least one vertical
slot in the lower portion thereof, a fixed shaft support substan-
tially midway between qaid side plates, a bridge laid out between
the lower ends of said side plates, a plurality of cylindrical
rotary members rotatably supported on said fixed shaft in said
upper frame, each rotary member having an annular disc formed
integrally with one end thereof and toothed on the circumference,
a plurality of endless belts, each endless belt being stretched
around said bridge and the corresponding rotary member and having
on the surface thereof a plurality of printing members, a lower
frame including a plate having an opening at the center thereof
and a pair of facing frame plates attached in an erect posture
on both sides of said opening, respectively, said plate having
another printing member fixed to the lower face thereof by bond-
ing or other means and said opening having such a size that whenthe endless belts are located below said bridge, the printing
members of said endless belts are well fitted in with said open-
ing, and spring means attached to the inside of each frame plate,
each spring means having on the inner face thereof at least one
projection to be engaged with said vertical slot and capable of
sliding along said vertical slot, wherein by engagement of the
projections on the spring means with the vertical slots on both
the side plates and sliding movement of said projections along
said vertical slots, said upper frame is allowed to move in the
vertical direction with respect to the lower frame and when the
endless belts are located below said bridge, the printing members
of the endless belts are allowed to move in the vertical direction
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along a distance between a position at which said printing members
of the endless belts are on a plane common with said other print-
ing member on the lower face of the plate of the lower frame and
a position retreated from said position.
In accordance with another feature of the present in-
vention, there is provided a rotary stamp of the above-mentioned
structure wherein each of said side plates of the upper frame
has a pair of parallel vertical slots, each frame plate of said
lower frame has a pair of inwardly facing side plates connected
to both the side ends thereof, each of said spring means includes
a central plate, a pair of spring plates connected to both the
side ends of the central plate and a reverse T-shaped arm plate
connected to the lower end of said central plate, each of said
spring plates has on the inner face thereof a projection to be
engaged with a corresponding one of said vertical slots and cap-
able of sliding along said vertical slot, the central plate of
each spring means is attached to the inner face of said frame
plate, each spring plate is arranged so that a spacing is formed
between the spring plate and the inner face of said frame plate
and also between the outer end of the spring plate and said in-
wardly facing side plate, and wherein said reverse T-shaped arm
plate has a pair of arm member9 in the lower portion thereof, and
the lower end of each arm member is pressed to the plate of the
lower frame and the free end of each arm member is kept in contact
with said inwardly facing side plate.
In accordance with still another feature of the present
invention, there is provided a rotary stamp of the above-mentioned
structure wherein each of printing members of said endless belts
and said other printing member fixed to the lower face of the plate
of the lower frame is composed of a porous material capable of
absorbing ink therein.
The present invention will now be described with refer-
~ 057118ence to the accompanying drawings which show a preferred form there-
of and wherein:
FIG, 1 is a front view illustrating one embodiment of
the rotary stamp of the present invention'
FIG. 2 is a side view of the rotary stamp shown in FIG.
1,
FIG. 3 is a view showing the section taken along the
line III-III in FIG. 2;
FIG, 4 is a view showing the section taken along the
line IV-IV in FIG. 3,
FIG, 5 is a bottom view of the rotary stamp,
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the upper frame
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the lower frame
FIG. 8 is a view showing the longitudinal section of
the lower frame,
FIG. 9 is a front view of the bridge,
FIG. 10 is a partially cut-out perspective view of the
bridge,
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a cover plate-stopping
plate~
FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a cover plate,
FIG. 13 iS a partially longitudinally sectional view
of an ink pad and a cover therefor, and
FIG. 14 is a plane view of the ink pad.
Referring to the drawings, an upper frame 10 haq a
substantially reverse U-shaped form as a whole, and it includes a
top plate 11 and a pair of side plates 12 connected to both ends
of the top plate 11, respectively.
Each side plate 12 has at least one vertical slot 13 in
the lower portion thereof, preferably a pair of parallel vertical
slots 13. The vertical slot 13 consists of an upper circular hole
portion 14, a lower circular hole portion 15 having the same dia-
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meter as that of the upper hole portion 14 and a groove 16 con-
nected between these hole portions 14 and lS and having a width
smaller than the diameter of the circular hole portions 14 and 15.
Each side plate 12 has a vertical elongated hole 17 in
the intermediate portion thereof, and a set screw 18 is inserted
into the elongated holes 17 of both the side plates and is screwed
in screw holes 20 on both the ends of a shaft 19 disposed between
both the side plates 12, whereby the shaft 19 is fixed to the side
plates 12.
A plurality of cylindrical rotary members 21 are rotat-
ably supported on the shaft 19. Each rotary member 21 has an an-
nular disc 23 formed integrally with one end thereof and this disc
23 has teeth 22 on the circumference.
A bridge 24 is laid out between the lower ends of both
the side plates 12, This bridge 24 includes a long plate 25,
portions 26 extending from both the ends of the long plate 26,
respectively, in the horizontal direction, portions 27 extending
upwardly from the ends of said extending portions 26, respective-
ly, and side portions 28 extending upwardly from both the side
ends of the long plate 25, respectively. A step 29 is formed
between each horizontally extending portion 26 and the long plate
25, so that the horizontal extending portion 26 is located slight-
ly above the long plate 25. Each side portion 28 has projections
30 on both the ends of the outer face thereof.
The bridge 24 is mounted on the side plates 12 by engag-
ing the upwardly extending portions 27 with the lower ends of the
side plates of the upper frame 10.
Each of a plurality of endless belts 31 is stretched
around the bridge 24 and the corresponding rotary member 21 and
supported between the projections 30 so that the belt 31 is pre-
vented from slipping toward the step 29. Each endless belt 31
has on the surface thereof a plurality of printing members 32 com-
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posed of a porous material capable of absorbing ink therein.
A lower frame 33 includes a circular plate 35 having arectangular opening 34 at the center thereof and a pair of frame
plates 36 attached in an erect posture on the plate 35 on both
the sides of the opening 34.
Each frame plate 36 has a pair of inwardly facing side
plates 37 connected to both the side ends thereof. The spacing
between both the side plates 37 is substantially equal to the
width of the lower portion of each side plate 12 of the upper
frame 10.
The plate 35 has a printing member 38 fixed to the lower
face thereof by bonding or other means, and the printing member
38 is composed of a porous material capable of absorbing ink
therein.
The opening 34 has such a size that when the endless
belt is located below the bridge 24, the printing member 32 of
the endless belt is fitted in with the opening 34.
Spring means comprises a rectangular central plate 39,
a pair of rectangular spring plates 40 connected to both the side
ends of the central plate 39, respectively, and a reverse T-shaped
arm 41 connected to the lower end of the central plate 39. Each
spring plate 40 has a projection 42 to be engaged with the verti-
cal slot 13 and capable of sliding along the vertical slot 13.
The central plate 39 of each spring means is fixed to
the inner face of the frame plate 36 by welding or nuts. Each
spring plate 40 is arranged so that there is formed a spacing a
between the outer face of the spring plate 40 and the inner face
of the frame plate 36 and there is also formed a spacing b be-
tween the outer end of the spring plate 40 and the inwardly fac-
ing side plate 37.
The reverse T-shaped arm plate 41 has in the lower por-
tion thereof a pair of arm members 43, and the arm plate 41 is
1057~1~
arranged so that there is formed a spacing c between the upper
end of each arm member 43 and the lower end of each spring plate
40 and the free end of each arm member 43 is kept in contact with
the inwardly facing side plate 37.
The top plate 11 of the upper frame 10 has an opening
44 at the center thereof, A cover plate-stopping plate 45 has
substantially the same size~as that of the top plate 11, and the
plate 45 has an opening 46 at the center thereof. A cover plate
47 has a size substantially equal to the spacing between the
side plates 12 of the upper frame 10 and the cover plate 47 has
a pair of bent portions 48 on the top end thereof and a plurality
of vertical slots 49 in which the annular disc 23 can be inserted.
A notch 60 is formed on the lower end of the cover plate 47.
A handle 50 has a screw hole 51 on the lower end, A
screw 52 is inserted through the opening 46 of the cover plate-
stopping plate 45 and the opening 44 of top plate 11 of the upper
frame 10 and screwed into the screw hole 51 of the handle 50, and
bent portions 48 of the cover plate 47 are gripped between the
cover plate-stopping plate 45 and the top plate 11 and the notch
60 on the lower end of the cover plate 47 is engaged with the side
portion 28 of the bridge 24, whereby the cover plate 47 and the
upper frame 10 are fixed to the handle 50.
A cover 53 of the lower frame 33 is attached to the outer
faces of the frame plates 36, and this cover 53 is composed of a
plastic material.
In the rotary stamp having the above structure, when the
side plates 12 of the upper frame 10 are pressed into the spacing
between the frame plates 36 of the lower frame 33, the side plates
12 are supported by the side plates 37 of the frame plates 36 hav-
ing a size substantially equal to the width of the lower portionsof the side plates 12 and elastically held by the spring plates
40. In this state, each projection 42 is engaged with the cor-
~IS7111~
responding slot 13.
When the upper frame 10 is pressed into the lower frame33 so that each projection 42 arrives at the upper circular hole
portion 14 of the vertical slot 13, as shown in FIGS 3 and 4, the
printing members 32 of the endless belts 31 located below the long
plate 25 of the bridge 24 are fitted in with the opening 34 of the
lower frame 33, and the printing members 32 are made to come close
to the printing member 38 on the lower face of the plate 35 of the
lower frame 33 and are positioned on a plane common with the
printing member 38. Accordingly, paper can be simultaneously
stamped by both the printing members 32 and the printing member
38.
It is preferred that the printing members 32 on the end~
less belts 31 be projected outwardly over the printing membe; 38
on the lower face of the plate 35 of the lower frame 33 by about
0,3 mm. It has been experimentally confirmed that good results
are obtained by this arrangement.
When it is extended to exchange the printing members 32
on the endless belts 31 for another printing member 31, the upper
frame 10 is lifted up and separated from the lower frame 33, At
this point, each projection 42 engaged with the upper circular
hole portion 14 of the vertical slot 13 departs from the hole
portion 14, passes through the groove 16 and arrives at the lower
circular hole portion 15. Simultaneously, the printing members 32
on the endless belts 31 escape from the hole 34 of the lower frame
33 and are shifted above the opening 34, though this state is not
specifically shown in the drawings.
When the endless belts 31 are turned in the above state,
the endless belt 31 can be smoothly turned and a desired printing
members 32 are ready for printing since the printing members 32
do not strike the plate 35 of the lower frame 33 or the printing
member 38.
When the turning of the endless belts 31 are completed,
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the upper frame 10 is pressed into the lower frame 33 and the
above-mentioned original state is once again attained.
The upper frame 10 is elastically held by the spring
plates 40 and supported in the lower frame 33 by engagement be-
tween the projections 42 and the vertical slots 13. Accordingly,
the upper frame 10 can be moved very simply and precisely in the
vertical direction with respect to the lower frame 33. Further,
the upper frame 10 is gripped by a pair of side plates 27 of the
lower plate 33 which face each other with a spacing substantially
equal to the width of the lower portions of the side plates 12
of the upper frame 10, and the position of the upper frame 10 is
fixed tightly by said side plates 27 and shaking of the upper
frame 10 is prevented.
If desired, the lower frame 33 may be exchanged with
another frame to which a different printing member is attached.
In this case, as in the case where the printing members 32 of the
endless belts 31 are exchanged, the upper frame 10 is lifted up
and separated from the lower frame 33. Then, projections 42 are
shifted to the lower circular hole portions 15 of the vertical ~-
slots 13, and the upper frame 10 is further pulled up more intense-
ly. At this point, the projections 42 escape from the lower cir-
cular portions 15 and the lower frame 33 is completely separated
from the upper frame 10. Then, another lower frame is set
As is apparent from the foregoing illustration, while
the rotary stamp is used, the spring plate 40 of the spring means
co-operates with the vertical slok 13 to hold tightly the connec-
tion between the upper frame and the lower frame. Further, the
spring plate 40 and the vertical slot 13 function to temporarily
separate the upper frame from the lower frame by a prescribed
distance or to separate the upper frame completely from the lower
frame according to need.
Moreover, since the lower end of each arm member 43 of
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the arm plate 41 of such spring means is pressed into the plate
35 and the arm member has such a length that both the ends there-
of are kept in contact with the side plates 37 of the frame plate
36, this arm plate 41 facilitates the operation of determining
the position of the spring means when the spring means is fixed
to the frame plate 36 and the arm plate 41 is very effective for
holding the spring means stable after it has been fixed to the
frame plate 36.
Since the step 29 is formed between the long plate 35
and each horizontally extending portion 26 of the bridge 24, it
is quite easy to locate the printing members 32 of the endless
belts 31 on a plane common with the printing member 38 of the
lower frame 33.
An ink pad 54 comprises a bottom plate 55, a mountain-
like wall 56 disposed around the bottom plate 55, a porous plate
member 57 disposed on the bottom plate 55 and a cover 58 to be
fitted in with the surrounding wall 56. This porous plate member
57 can absorb ink therein, and it is stopped by a click member 59
disposed on the inside of the surrounding wall 56. When the rotary
stamp is not used, if the stamp is stored in the state placed on
the porous plate member 57 of the ink pad 54, ink i5 supplied to
the printing members 32 and 38 from the ink pad, and the rotary
stamp is stored in such state that it can be used at any time.
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